The Mets have a second shot at Alex Rodriguez – and this time, they plan to take advantage of it.

The Ranger shortstop, who captured the AL MVP award yesterday, said he is keeping open his option to waive his no-trade.

And, according to a source, the Mets plan to pursue what it would take to acquire him.

The news signals a radical departure from the Mets’ stance just three years ago. After 2000, the free-agent Rodriguez was a natural fit for Shea. But Met brass chose not to pursue him. Neither party has tasted the playoffs since.

In A-Rod’s case, the losing appears to have caught up with him. On a conference call yesterday to announce his selection as the AL MVP, the shortstop said the Rangers have approached him about a specific trade and he countered by giving them some options.

“Management has approached me with a situation and some choices,” Rodriguez, who has a full no-trade clause, said. “I’m just going to keep my doors open right now.

“I did not approach management. Management approached me. I’m just going to leave the door open and give [owner] Tom Hicks some options and choices. I also might be back with the Texas Rangers.”

Asked specifically about whether he’d waive his no-trade clause for the Mets, Rodriguez replied, “As far as New York or all the stuff that’s out there, I’m just going to keep an open mind.”

Of course, acquiring the game’s best player will hardly be an easy task for the Mets.

To afford A-Rod, they will likely have to deal Mike Piazza, who has veto rights over a trade. It’s unlikely Piazza would OK a trade to Texas, so a third team would have to be involved.

The Mets will also have competition, as Rodriguez believed there had been talks with three to four teams about a trade. The Red Sox, Orioles and Angels could all be a fit.

As for the club that the Rangers asked A-Rod about, its identity is unknown. But it wasn’t the Mets.

Ranger GM John Hart, meanwhile, confirmed that there has been interest in Rodriguez.

“Since the end of the season, the Texas Rangers have specifically stated that we are not actively seeking to trade Alex Rodriguez,” Hart said in a statement. “However, we have received inquiries from other clubs regarding Alex. As part of the process, Tom Hicks has had conversations with Alex regarding these inquiries and to alert him about potential options.

“This situation remains the same. We expect that Alex Rodriguez will be the shortstop for the Texas Rangers in 2004 and beyond.”

Rodriguez is owed $189 million over the next seven years, and there is no way to restructure the deal to ease the financial burden. But there is also no denying that Rodriguez is the game’s finest player and, at 28, is still very much in his prime.

In 2003, he paced the AL in homers (47), runs (124) and slugging percentage (.600) while hitting .298, driving in 118 runs and winning his second straight Gold Glove. He joined Andre Dawson of the 1987 Cubs as the only MVP winners from last-place clubs, racking up 242 points to Carlos Delgado’s 213. Rodriguez was runner-up in 1996 and 2002.

But the news now is about his future. Rodriguez stressed several times yesterday that management came to him first about a deal, dismissing the notion that he wants out (“I’ve never said that”) and saying that there’s nothing he wants more “than to win a championship with Texas.”

“That’s up to management,” he said. “They have to make up their mind where they’re going.”

The Mets have decided. They are going to make a play for the game’s best player.

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A Most Valuable Commodity

Ranger shortstop (and future Met?) Alex Rodriguez captured the American League’s MVP award yesterday. Here’s a look at the top vote-getters in balloting the Baseball Writers’ Association of America:

First-, second- and third-place votes and total points on a 14-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis: